e I .., - 1- [ill•§~ Prist ine DI GITAL AUDIO PACO 152 Leinsdorf's Ring XR 1. Das Rheingold, Met Opera, 1961 PACO 152 wan n er Oas Rheingold is a tricky opera to deliver successfully. The prologue to the Ring Cycle lasts about two and a half -hours without an das~eingold interval (making it one of the shortest Wagnerian operas) and the orchestra is just as prominent as lts ensemble cast. It ls the first the leinsdorf met opera ring cycle 1961/62 time the audience hears Wagner's mastery of the leitmotif, starting w ith that for the Rhine itself, and each important character, place or theme has its own musical signature that will return in the other operas in the cycle when mentioned or even just thought about. The opera requires a great orchestra under a skilful conductor, and an excellent cast of more than a dozen principals.

Das Rheingold is divided into four scenes: the first deals w ith Alberich's renunciation of love in order to steal the gold guarded by the Rhinemaidens; the second with the Gods bickering over how they are going to pay for their new home, Valhalla; the third shows Wotan outwitting Alberich and stealing the gold that has now been forged into a magic ring and tarnhelm; and the final scene shows the triumphant entry of the Gods into Valhalla . The re are lots of subplots set up for the future operas during Das Rheingold, including Alberich cursing the ring so that everyone who comes into contact with it fares bad ly; Wotan breaking his word initiating the final downfall of the Gods, and deciding to fa ther a race of warrior maidens (including BrOnnhllde) in a vain wotan george london attempt to prevent it. fricka irene dalis The Met's Ring Cycle of 1961-2 came with a largely new cast, though the production itself dated back to 1948. The centrepiece of alberich ralph herbert Oas Rheingold was George London's Wotan. London had been signing at the Met since 1951 and his dark, rich and vibrant baritone was ideally suited to such roles as Amonasro (available an PAC0147), Don Giovanni, and Scarpia. He appeared at the first post-war loge karl liebl Bayreuth Festival as Amfortas and later added the Dutchman (available on PAC0136) and Wolfram to his repertoire. Wotan and erda jean madeira the Wanderer were the final Wagnerian roles he assumed, but Leinsdorf and the Met management knew what they were getting fasolt jerome hines as London had already recorded the role triumphantly for Decca in 1958. This was the first time he sang the role on stage. London gives us a nuanced and intelligent portrayal that makes us regret all the more the health problems that led to a premature fafner ernst wiemann retirement from the stage at 46 years old. freia heidi krall Austrian ba ritone Ralph Herbert is a characterful Alberich and compares well wlth those who have assumed the role in more recent froh robert nagy times. Mime is sung by Paul Kuen, one of the true masters of the role, in a rare appearance in New York . Kuen specialised in donner norman mittelmann character tenor parts and was the Mime of choice at Bayreuth between 1951 and 1957. Karl Lieb l, singing Loge, was a leading Wagnerian tenor in his own right, singing roles such as Lohengrin, Tristan and Parsifal at the Met. mime paul kuen woglinde martina arroyo The cast is filled out with some top-notch performers. Irene Dalis, a notable Amneris, Kundry and Brangane (available on PAC0135) both in the US and Europe, is a powerful Fricka. Jerome Hines, whose Met career lasted for more than forty years in leading roles, wellgunde rosalind elias features as Fasolt, Jean Madiera gives us perhaps one of the best portrayals of Erda ever heard at the Met, while Martina Arroyo flosshilde mignon dunn (at the start of her glittering career) features as Woglinde.

Although Erich leinsdorf's career at the Met lasted some forty-five years between 1938 and 1983 it included a lengthy gap between 1945 -1957. Leinsdorf started out in the Met's German wing almost exclusively conducting Wagner. His repertoire expanded considerably after his return to the Met in 1957 and this production of the Ring was actually the first time he had conducted any Wagnerian opera (apart from Parsifal) since 1945. leinsdorf gives us a taut, but never rushed, performance, and ' metropolitan opera orchestra & chorus allows the Met's orchestra to bring out the beauty of the sco re. conducted by erich leinsdorf

N.B. Your free MP3 download includes full score, vocal score and libretto as PDF documents. I live broadcast performance, 16 december 1961 zojJ

~- :Jo [Q]m~i© Q'.<{ DIGITAL AUDIO 0.. PACO 152

[iJ RADIO Introduction ILS4I [iJ Scene 3 cont'd - Schau, du Schelm! 11'571 1::::1 Scene 1 - Prelude 13301 ['] Nibelheim hier- durch bleiche Nebel was blitzen dort Is,osI • Weia! Wag a! Woge, Du Welle! 12 131 • Nehmt euch in acht! Alberich naht - Sein harren wir hier 17341 [iJ Garstig Glatter Glitschriger Glimmer! l4A8I [iJ Vergeh, frevelnder Gauch! - Was sagt der! IN 11 • Wallala! Lalaleia! 12171 • Ohe! Hahaha! Ohe! Hahaha! Schreckliche Schlange 16,091 • Lugt, Sch western! 16071 • Scene 4 - Da, Vetter, sitze du fest! is,37I CJ Der Welt Erbe Gewann' lch Zu Eigen Durch Dich! IusI CJ Gezahlt hab' ich; nun laflt mich zieh'n! Is31 I • Scene 2 - Wotan! Gema hi! Erwache! 19321 • Bin ich nun frei! Wirklich Frei! IN6I • Sanft Schloss Schlaf Dein Aug' (6,561 • Fasolt und Fafner nahen von fern Is ,01 I 18 Zu Mir, Freia! Meide Sie, Frecher! 11'1 81 18 Gepflanzt sind die Pfahle Is 3sI liiJ Endlich Loge! 13331 liiJ Weiche, Wotan, weiche! 15,0 91 ['] lmmer 1st Undank Loges Lohn! 17 ,171 ['] Hort, ihr Riesen! Zuruck, und harret! - Halt, du Gieriger! (6osI ii] Ein Runenzauber Zwingt Das Gold Zurn Reif 13• 71 ii] Schwules Gedunst - Zur Burg fuhrt die Brucke 13771 [ii] Hor', Wotan, Der Harrenden Wort! IN oI [ii] Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge 14 ,11 1 1G Was Sinnt Nun Wotan So Wild! 14 351 1G Rheingold! Rheingold! Reines Gold! Wie lauter und hell IN3I • Auf, Loge, Hinab Mit Mir! 13 ,s4I 18 RADIO Ending l4A6I ['] Scene 3 - Hehe! Hehe! Hieher I0A1I Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus co11di1ctcd V!J Eric{, Lci11sifo,j

XR :en1aste r1 ng bv Andrew Rose Live broadcast from Nev,, Ymk For a ful l catalogue visit Metroool1tan Opna House V·/W\".I. pristi necl ass ica I.corn CO \'Pr" arLvork based on a 15 Cecen:ber, 1951 or ca ll, (00) 33 %7 3918S7 PRISTINE I photograph of George London as AUDIO \\'otan against a det ail f rom Jose f © 2018 Pristine Audio - - Hcff n1an ·s 1875 se t designs 2hr 27:46 Total duration (cJ 2018 Pr ist ine Audio